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Total hogwash: Mr. Banks gives cars a piggy polish

Mr. Banks, who lives on the Critteraid farm in the Okanagan, was offering the service on the weekend
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Mr. Banks, the resident pig at the Critteraid Farm, was a free offering a buff and polish for cars on the weekend. (Critteraid photo)

His personality is as big as his body and although the resident pig at the Critteraid farm is offering no charge car washes — it might be a freebie you want to pass over.

“He is more like a hippo, so no you may not want him washing your car. Well, I mean ICBC does give out animal claims for dents in your car, so maybe if your car is already dented up?” joked Paul Grayson, director of media for Critteraid, which is based in Summerland and promotes and fosters animal welfare through the provision of sanctuary, education and rescue.

READ ALSO: Critteraid looks for homes for 50 cats

Grayson guesstimates that Mr. Banks weighs in at about 1,000 pounds and on the weekend he at least got one taker on his “super primo deluxe extra buff and polish” option.

Mr. Banks has been living at the Critteraid farm since about November 2017.

“He has a really big personality and his name comes from the location he was staying before he joined us. You don’t want to park a vehicle to close to his pen because if he is out, he could leave a large dent. He is lethal,” said Grayson with a laugh. “He will barge his way past anything. We have to make sure the fences are really into the ground because he leans against them. Even some of the gates are deformed and he has broken locks. He will put his nose under the gate and lift the latch to get out.”

READ ALSO: South Okanagan animal sanctuary rescues three calves

While Grayson swears Mr. Banks is a lovely animal, that is known for his farm pranks and for being tough to corral once he gets loose.

“If gets running down the hill he won’t stop and it can take hours to get him back to his pen. We only have two volunteers at the moment that are allowed to walk him because they know how to handle him.”

Mr. Banks is just one of many animals, including calves, alpacas and the 120 cats and kittens Critteraid take care of. Grayson said they are always in need of volunteers who can help feed animals like Mr. Banks (who eats two buckets of grain a day), cleaning, assisting with picking up supplies and working in the Critteraid Charity Shoppe.

To volunteer visit critteraid.org and fill out a volunteer application.

To report a typo, email: editor@pentictonwesternnews.com.

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